BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. — Bill Haas is in a quandary as he heads into a quarterfinal of the 102nd U.S. Amateur at Oakland Hills Country Club.

        Haas, the qualifying medalist, is delighted to be among the final eight. But as he watched the conclusion of the John Klauk-Kevin Stadler match Thursday, he had an observation.

        “I don't want to play either of them, but I'm going to have to,” said Haas, 20, son of PGA Tour player Jay Haas.

        It will be Klauk. That's Haas' reward for defeating D.J. Trahan, the college player of the year and top-ranked amateur in the country. If it's any consolation, Klauk can't be too fond of the idea of playing Haas, either. And if either is looking any further down the road, something that's entirely unlikely with the fierce competitive level at the Amateur, there's Ryan Moore to think about.

        The threesome joins Californians Spencer Levin, Ricky Barnes and 16-year-old Henry Liaw; Hunter Mahan, the 1999 U.S. Junior Amateur champion from McKinney, Texas; and Dustin Bray from Asheboro, N.C., in the final eight. It will be Levin-Barnes in the bottom half of the Haas-Klauk bracket, with Mahan facing Liaw and Moore against Bray on the other side. Friday's first match begins at 11:30 a.m. The semifinals will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, with the 36-hole final at 8 a.m. Sunday.

        Haas rallied from 3-down after eight holes to oust Trahan, 2 and 1.

        “When I get over par or down in that situation, I tell myself I'm not a 75 shooter,” Haas said. “I tell myself I'm a 70 shooter and it evens out. I'm confident enough I can get it back, and that's what I told myself.

        Haas fought back to all square with birdies at the 10th and 12 holes, and a par at the 15th, where Trahan bogeyed. Trahan made another bogey at the 16th, and Haas' birdie at the 17th ended the match.

        Klauk need a clutch downhill par putt at the 18th to defeat Kevin Stadler, son of former Masters winner Craig Stadler, 1-up. Klauk, winner of the prestigious Western Amateur earlier this summer, was happy to make it through what he called maybe his worst round in 10 months — “like in October, where I shot like 81. It was just dreadful, and that's what it felt like today,” he said. “I'm just going to forget about it. I'm glad it's done with. I'm going to need to figure something out on the range to get a little more confidence. Bill's a great player — I know its going to take a good score to have a chance to be in there toward the end.”

        Good scores are nothing unusual for Moore, who has been on a birdie blitz all summer in Michigan. Moore qualified for the U.S. Open at Bethpage State Park and in the process earned an exemption into the U.S. Public Links Championship — which he won — last month and the U.S. Amateur. He needed just 27 holes to win the final match at the Public Links, and he needed just 27 holes to get through his two victories Thursday.

        “Match play kind of frees me up,” said Moore, 19, who ran his winning streak to nine matches. Moore routed David Miller, 7 and 5, in his morning match with an eagle and four birdies, including three straight to close the match. Moore holed out from the rough with a 132-yard 9-iron on the 355-yard, par-4 sixth hole. In the afternoon, Moore, who is about to start his sophomore year at Nevada-Las Vegas, defeated Bruce McDonald, 5 and 4, after going 6-up through nine holes. Moore went out in 32.

        “These two matches are definitely as close as I've gotten lately to my 'A' game,” Moore said. “I think the finals of the APL (Public Links) was pretty good. I made about 14 birdies there in 27 holes. I can get in a little bit of a groove and I guess kind of get in a zone, fading out all the distractions, focusing on what I've got to do and just making putts. That, and I'm pretty scrappy out there. I just don't ever give up. I guess that would be a good way to put it.”

Sports Stories

Big-time football gets even bigger Buckeye back bangs heads Colorado St. 35, Virginia 29 Miami LB Jones adds bulk, eases pain A look ahead at the U.S. Open Coach to the stars sizes up U.S. Open Williams, Davenport advance to semifinals Lights, camera, action Worcester knocks off Harlem Goose, Izawa lead NEC Invitational Links champion Moore lurks as field is whittled to eight O'Neal says he never agreed to host kids camp U.S. bid has IOC in mind United States 84, China 54 'Wild man' label suits Busch fine

At training camp, competition and camaraderie forge a team
Bengals training camp by the numbers
Farmer returns, hamstring and all
Grass-roots effort working well at Paul Brown Stadium
He's the one who brings bad news
Chargers 31, Rams 10
Rams fullback fractures left foot in preseason game
Edgewood wins opener
Badin crushes Wyoming
Kentucky football preview
This week's football preview
Prep football schedule
Kentucky boys soccer preview
Kentucky girls soccer preview
Ohio girls soccer preview
Turpin seeking 3-peat in D-II
Boys golf results
Girls golf results
Girls tennis results
Soccer results
Coaches, call us
D'Backs 6, Reds 3
Reds Box, Runs
Sullivan OK, itching to pitch
It's make-or-break time for Reds
Reds at Astros series preview
Labor talks moving slowly
Fox's Goren on strike: 'A deal to be made.'
Astros 9, Cubs 1
Cardinals 5, Pirates 4
Phillies 7, Brewers 0
Astros bolster bullpen with Flash Gordon
Toledo 6, Louisville 4
DAUGHERTY: That buzz you hear is UC's QB